Improvement in rock-boring and tunneling machine



5 S'heets-SheetL H. N. PENRICE. ROCK-BORING AND TUNNELING MACHINES. No.192,788. Patented July s, 18177.

NJTERS, PHOTOTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTONy D. C,

5 Sheets--Sheet 2. H. N. PENRICE.

` ROCK-BORING AND TUNNELING MACHINES. No. 192,788. Patented July 3,1877.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

H. N. PENRICE. JBORING AND TUNNELING MACHINES.

Roer: No. 192,788.

Patented Ju1y 3,1877.

ITA/5555:

. l (NVE/v ra/a- JZw-Wz- JAP ela/"ide NVPETEHS. PHOTD-UTNOGRAPHER.WASHINGTON. D C.

v 5 Sheets-Shpt 4. H. N. PENRIGE.

ROCK-BORING AND TUNNELING MACHINES. No. 192,788 Patented July 3,1877.,

N PETERSA PHOTO-LITHOGRARHER, WASHINGTON D Q 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

Patented July 3, 1877.

wir

'a long Chisel. 0r wel PATENT OFFICE'.

ernennen nennnien, en HATFIELD, ENGLAND- S pecilication formi,ngvpartofLettersfatent No.

A[92,18S, datedrJuly 3, 1877; application 4filed' March 1B, 1877,Patented in England February 25, 1876, for fourteen years.

To, allwhom Muay concern;

Bc it known that l, HERBERT Nnw'roN PEivltioE, ofHatiield, in the countyof Herts, England, have invented new andf useful Improvements inRpekfBprinaTnnneling, and SbnftSinkinannd in mnehinerytebe. need forthesel pnrposes, ,which improvements are fully setforthin the followingspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Thisinvention. has for its objectthe formanon of tunnels andl shafts inrelek more uniek 1yy than heretofore practicable. '.lhisl'v effectzpartly bv` the manner in, Whiehl ferm. einnnelinnd partly by. Seeenentneti,ngy tbe. boring. machinery that ay greater amount of, powermay beemployed toeliect the boring relative- 1y te the sizeioftheboreHeIQtOforeit has been proposed to form tun nelsby employinga ram armedwith chisels andreceiving a` reciprocating motion v to cut ai largeannulant groove: and afterwardmembying the core,an d this core requiringto be broken,

up. by.. miners before. it ebnld pase the Ina.

chine.

The machinery WbiebV Lernplpy Operates in,

' this manner to outa much smaller hole, which is subsequently enlargedbeforethe coreis removed. lIn Order torinsnrethe ample pQWel requisitefor rapid progress,l construct the cylinderor cylinders used for givingmotion tothe ram and cutting-head of a diameter nearly equal. te. thatof the annular groeve ent by the heed., and` I enlnrgetbe upper part andsides of the bore in` advanceof the cylinders. as the werkpresresses.The. enle-.reeinentis effected by means of holes formed at'the sides iand top ofthe bore. To produce these holes three or more arms are fixedto the ram bei hind the cutting-head,and each arm carries I prefer toemploy a chisel or tool which does not require to be turned, and whichconsists, of an open ringpunch with cutting-edges passing across thering, and leaving open channels for the dbris tov pass. These holes mayalso be drilled in Seine eases by independent. lnnellinee` The maingroove and the holes at the sides and above it proceed simultaneously,and when seine. feet. have been ent the innehine iS with: drawn and theholes amend, the mein groeve der, gun-cotton, or ,other explosive. lThechargedholes are closedwith three longstveel wedges, made to lit them,and inclinedii opposite directions. When the charges are fired thecenter wedge is forcedbetween the other two, and is pressed outlaterally from theside holes and then vertically from the top holein-`tothe groove of the main bore. The, direct explosionof the dynamite orother explosive used suffices in most cases to shatter thesinall. core.The lower part of the bore is always preserved as the bottom, so thatvthe 'machine can bemoved to and fro along it ina straight line. When thematerial has been removed the machineis again moved forwardto continueits work. lft will be seen that by constructing a` borey in the mannerabove de` scribed, a very small proportion only ot' the lmaterial to beremoved'has` to be pulverized, gand that the bulk of the material cauberemoved in comparatively large pieces, byy which the amount of workrequired to win' a` large bore isgreatly reduced.

rlhe apparatus I employ for cutting the bore is constructed as follo ws:The cuttersfor cutting the annular grooveact percussively, and travelslowly around the groove. The icutters consist of a series of chiselsset close jtogether in the circumference of a cylinder, exceptthat twospaces are left` for the escape of dbris, and for the passage ot'tubesfor conveying water to wash out the annular g'rooye ,and cool thetools. The chisels are held by lwedges in a massive cutter-head, and thewedges are locked by right and left hand nuts, `over which again a keep'is slid.

The edges of the chisels are placed circum- `ferentially and alternatelynearer to; and'farther from the center, so' that they actually chase twoseparate grooves close together, from between vwhichv the rock flakesaway as the work progresses.l Thus the quantity of rock which; hasactually to be pulverized in forming the bore is reduced to a minimum.

The cutter holder or head is rapidly driven` to and fro at the same timethat it is also slowly rotated, The cutter-head is carried by a strongpiston-rod or ram, which passesfbacl; through two or more cylinders, andcarries pistons to u ork in each cylinder. The forward end of one ofthese cylinders iskept conreeeive smell charges et' dynamite,eunpewetnntly in eplnlnnnieeen with the Sppply ef.

n scares compressed air or 'steam by which the engine is worked. Theforward ends of the other, cylinders Iare open, and theback ends of allthe cylinders are alternately opened to the compressed-air or steamsupply and to the exhaust by valves worked by a separate engine at therear end of the machine. By this means the cutter-head is moved to andfro with short quick strokes, and any desired amount ot' power can beapplied to it, according to the number of cylinders employed. In rear ofthe last cylinder the ram passes through an internal-toothed wheel, bymeans of which a slow revolving motion is given to it. In rear of thiswheel is a small engine worked by compressed air or steam. Thecrank-shaft of this engine is at right angles to the ram, and has uponit a worm gearing into a wormwheel upon a strong shaft, which, at itsrear end, can be clutched to the end of a long screw, which passesbackward from the rear end ofthe machine, and works in a long nut veryfirmly lixed to the rock. By this means the machine is moved forward orbackward. The shalt at its forward end carries a pinion to drive anintermediate .shaft` from which motion is transmitted to theinternal-toothed wheel before mentioned, which is to give the slowrevolving motion to the ram.

The small engine at the rear end of the machine also gives a to-and-fromotion to slidevalves, by which compressed air or steam is alternatelyadmitted to, and allowed to escape from, the back ends of all thecylinders used for giving the to-and-fro motion to the ram. Thisslidevalve is constructed in such amanner that the cutter-head is causedto make two strokes for each revolution of the small engine.

Inclined shafts maybe sunk by the same machine may be employed.

In order that my said invention may be most fully understood and readilycarried into effeet I will proceed to describe the drawings hereuntoannexed.

Figure l is a plan of a machine constructed according to myinvention. Itis adapted for tunneling and shaft-sinking in hard rock.. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section ofthe same. vvFigs. 3,4, and 5 are transversesections taken on the lines A B C D and E F in Fig. 1. respectively.Fig. 6 is an end elevation.

a ais the main frame or bed of the machine. Itspt'orm on the under sideis semi-cylindrical, and its curvature is the same as that of the grooveleft at the bottom of the hole by the cutting-head, so that the machine,when at work, rests with perfect steadiness in this groove,a11d whenmoved forward maintains a true line with but little care on the part ofthe workman. a1 a2 a3 are three cylinders. They are made in two parts,and the lower portions are cast with the frame. In each of the cylindersthere is a piston, and these pistons are formed on the ram b, which,when actuated by compressed air or steam admitted apparatus, and forvertical shafts a suspended to the cylinders, traverses to 'and fro fora short distance in the bearings, in which it is carried. On the end ofthe ram is the head bl,-'in which the chisels c are fixed. An annu-l largroove is formed in therhead to receive the rear ends of the chisels,which are shaped to a dovetail form, and when inserted into the groovethey butt solidly one against the other. The chisels are held in theirplaces by two curved wedge-pieces, which are drawn home an d locked eachby two nuts, one right-handed and one left-handed, screwed onto theirstems. These. nuts are prevented from shaking loose by a metal keepoutside both the nuts, which is retained in its place by a rim on theouter nut and an india-rubber ring or spring over the inner nut. Gapsare left in the ring of chisels, one on each side, say, for ene-sixth ofthe circumference, or rather less, so that the chisels may be put inwith facility and a free escape aii'orded to the dbris. Along thesespaces alsoy water-pipes (not shown in the drawings) are led, and jetsof water under heavy pressure are thrown into the groove cut in therock, to wash away the dbris. The stems ot' the chisels are so formedthat they iit closely, the one to the other, and it is better that theirsides should be shaped so as to lock together in such a way as toprevent the stems bending independently of the chisels on either side.The chisels are hooped together near theircutting-edges. Filling-piecesareinserted into the gaps in the ring of chisels both where they enterthe head of the ram and within the hoop, care being taken in the lattercase so to arrange them that they may not interfere with the iow ofwater and dbris. The edges of the chisels, it will be observed, are setcircumterentially and alternately on the inner and outer side to theannular groove, which they cut so that the actual cuts are very narrow,and the rock akes away between them; or, if necessary, a shorter cuttermay be introduced to clear away any ridge which may form. d d are arms,tirmly connected with the head, but in such a way that the head canrotate independently of them. They carry at their ends tool-holders di,which pass through guides to steady them as they slide to and t'ro. Inthese tool-holders the borers e e are tiXed. They are chisels withcutting-edges ot' peculiar forni-'a cross with a ring around it-andthere are openings for the passage-way of the dbris in thespaces betweenthe crosscutting edges. These tools penetrate the rock simultaneouslywith the cutting-head. They may be made to rotate, if necessary. Astrong jet of water is thrown into the holes which they produce, to washaway the debris. The tool may conveniently' be made hollow for thepassage of the water. The compressed air or steam to actuate the'ram isadmitted to the cylinders' c1 a2 c3 by means of three valves. Alongitudinal section of one ot' them is shown to a larger scale at Fig.7, and a transverse section t at Fig. 8. These valves are connecteddirectly to the piston-rod of a donkey-engine, the crank.H

back to the rear of the machines.

shaft of which is seen at f. Each traverse of the valves admits andexhausts the air or steam to and from the cylinders, so that the strokesof the ram occur twice as frequently as the revolutions of thedonkey-engine. The return of the ram each time the exhaust is openedresults from the cylinder a1 being closed at the front and a constantback pressure of air or steam being maintained ou the front of thepiston. In practice, the ram may thus, conveniently in some cases, beworked at a speed as high as six hundred stokes a minute, or even more.

Theports leading to the cylinders are double, and the valves are made tocorrespond, as. it is essentialv to rapid working that the air or steampassages should be as free as possible. f1 is the cylinder of thedonkeyengine. Its piston drives the crank-shaft f in the usual way by aconnecting-rod. An eccentric on the crank-shaft works the valve. f2 is aworm on the crank-shaft. It drives a worm-wheel, g, on the shaft ofwhich is a pinion, gl, driving a wheel, h, which, when held in gear by aclutch, drives a pinion, h1, on its shaft, and this in turn gives motionto a wheel with internal teeth vl on a hollow axis Acarried in a bearingon a frame, and through which the ram b passes. The ram and the hollowaxis engage together by means of grooves and` feathers, so that as thewheelt' slowly rotates it carries the rain with it. y

On the rear end of the shaft of the wormwheel q there is a clutch bywhich it can be made to engage with a screw, k, the fore end of which isheld in a bearing on the frame, and the rear end works through a massivenut, l, which is made fast in rear of the machine. The nut is mounted oua block shaped to the curve of the groove left in the rock by thecutting-head. This block is jammed down in its place by a screw-jackfrom above, and is strutted so vas to prevent longitudinal movement byscrewstruts both before and behind.

By the rotation of the screw lc obtained in the manner alreadydescribed, the whole machine cau be moved at a comparatively ra-pid rateto and from the face of the rock. When the machine is at work, however,a slower forward or feed motion is required to move the frame forward atthe rate at which the cutters are able to penetrate the rock. Theworkman tending the machine makes it follow the progress of the chiselsby means ,ot' a handwheel, h2, which,operating on a friction-clutch,serves to clutch and unclutch the toothed pinion h3 carried on the axisof the wheel h, and the wheel h3 gears with a wheel of larger size, onthe axis of the screw k. A little rod is connected with the hinderpiston, and leads It serves as 'an indicator to inform the workman whento throw the feed into and out of gear.

By the means described the cuts are made to penetrate to a depth offour, live, or more feet into the rock, according to the nature of thematerial, and then the machine is drawn back a sufficient dista-nce tobe out of the way. Small charges of dynamite or other explosive are thenplaced in the holes lproduced by the borers e, and the holes are closedby clay or wedges, three steel wedges together forming a cylinder, beinginserted into each hole with the base of the center wedge toward thecharge. The two lateral charges are first fired, and immediatelyafterward the charge in the upper hole. The pieces of rock are broughtback by a trolly working on a temporary tramway laid down in one pieceon the lett-hand side of the machine, and this having been done themachine is run back again to its work, advantage having been taken ofthe delay to change the chisels and borers if it should be foundnecessary. In this way very rapid progress can be made.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation, and Fig. 101s a longitudinal section, of amachine adapted for sinking shafts. Fig. 11 is an end elevation of thesame. The machine is so similar to that already described, and it is soclearly represented Ain the drawings that it is unnecessary to describethe drawings in detail, and it will suffice to direct attention to thosepoints in which differences of importance between the two machinesoccur. The frame of this machine is not adapted to run in the grooveproduced by the cutting-head; but it is guided as the work progresses byguide-wheels fixed to it at either end.

The detail of one of these guide-wheels is shown at Fig. 12. It isfurnished with -a strong spring, as is shown, enabling the wheel toyield to slight inequalities in the surface over which it runs. Theseguide-wheels are arranged to run in the grooves left by the borers e, ofwhich, in this machine, there are four in place of three. One pair ofborers, opposite the one to the other, are shorter than the others, andthe charges in the holes which they produce are tired lirst. They clearthe way for the more distant holes to operate efficiently. The machineis furnished with but one air or steam cylinder, the circumstancesadmitting of th'is cylinder being made of anyl size deemed requisite.The whole machine is suspended from the screw k, which at its upper endis held in a nut contained in a frame, which, by rigid struts set upwith screws, is rmly fixed in the center of the shaft at a shortdistance above the machine. A portion ofthe weight of the machine mayconveniently be borne by a wire rope passing over a pulley, and havingcounter-weights attached.

Letters Patent have been granted to me in England, by Her Majesty, theQueen of Great Britain, bearing date the 25th day of February, 1876, andnumbered 794, for fourteen years.

Having thus described the nature of my said invention, and the manner ofperforming the same, I would have it understood that I do not connemyself to the exact details details described; lbut I claim- 4martes' 1. The hereinbefore-described .method of boring or 'tunnelingrock, which consists in cutting a small annular groove or main bore,simultaneously `forming holes at the sides and top of the bore, and thenenlarging 4the bore `t )yexploding charges in these holes,Vsubstanconstructed of -a curved or semi-cylindrical form von theunderside, toadapt -it to fit ewithin @the groove formed at the bottom of thebore, and traverse along it in a straight line, substantially yashereinbefore set forth.

4. The combination, substantially as hereinloefore set forth, of a ram,acutting-head actuated thereby, and aseries `of borers also actuated vbythe ram, and forming holes round the annular groove cut by lthe saidhead, whereby the rock between .the annular 4groove and the holes.for-,med `by the lborers :may be forced kin by explosive charges, andthe 'amount of work required `to win allarge bore greatly reduced.

f 5: vI-n arock-bori-ng or tunneling machine, the combination,substantially y,as hereinbefbre set forth, of the ram, the,cutting-head, and the main frame .or bled, lprovided with two yor morecylinders for actuating the ram, Ain .the manner described.

6. The cutting-head, constructed substantially as hereinbeforedescribed, with lcutters having their .edges .set circumferentially tothe annular groove to :be cut.

N. PENBIGE.

Witnesses:

WllLMER Eines-Is, JNO. DEAN, Both of No. 17 Gmcechuxch Street, London.

